Loyalist paramilitaries “have the run of the town” in County Antrim,
according to the owner of a repair business in Carrickfergus whose cars
have repeatedly been torched.

The South East Antrim UDA is behind the campaign of intimidation which
saw twelve cars burned out in the space of a few weeks, with six being
destroyed on Monday night.

“They say it’s not them, but everybody knows it is them: the South East
Antrim UDA,” Mr Dunlop told UTV television news. He says they are
trying to force him out of the town.

While he is determined to stay with his family, he says the financial
impact will take its toll. “Eventually they will end up putting me out
of here,” he said.

Internal loyalist tensions, which were at the root of the Carrickfergus
incident, are also thought have been involved in a gun attack in the
Waterside area of Derry. On Monday, a masked men took aim and fired at a
van being driven by a local community worker in the Waterside. The
targeted man works for a restorative justice group with links to the
UDA.

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill called on unionist politicians to do more
to speak out against loyalist paramilitaries.

“This is the latest in a line of attacks which has been linked to
loyalist paramilitaries and the default position from most unionist
politicians seems to be to remain silent,” she said.

“That is wrong. It is unacceptable. These organisations are a scourge on
many communities. The violence, intimidation, extortion and drug dealing
they are involved in needs to be confronted and condemned at every
turn.”

The attacks come as an umbrella group of loyalist paramilitaries warned the
British government that they “strongly oppose” the current Brexit deal
negotiated with the EU, particularly the backstop condition that there
be no remilitarisation of the border through Ireland.

David Campbell - current chairman of the so-called ‘Loyalist Communities
Council’, which represents the murder gangs of the UDA and UVF - said
they met Britain’s permanent secretary in the North last Thursday to
issue the statement.

As to whether there was any sense of threat from the paramilitaries, Mr
Campbell said: “Oh, no, no, not at all. Quite the opposite. The
organisations reinforced their commitment to the peace process. This is
very much political opposition.”

We have a favour to ask

We want to keep our publication as available as we can, so we need to ask for your help. Irish Republican News takes time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe it makes a difference.
If everyone who reads our website helps fund it, our future would be much more secure.

For as little as £1, you can support Irish Republican News – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.